A DURSLEY athlete has added his voice to criticism of being asked to pay for a weekly run.

Runners of all abilities and from across Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire regularly attended the Little Stoke parkrun in South Gloucestershire but a decision by Stoke Gifford Parish Council to charge the organisers led to chaos last week.

Last Saturday’s Little Stoke parkrun was cancelled ‘for safety reasons’, so many runners who would have attended that session migrated to Mangotsfield, South Gloucestershire, where their usual 120-athlete field was swelled to just under 300 on Saturday.

Dursley athlete David Durden thought the attitude of the council was ‘short-sighted’. The criticism has spread far and wide, with British legend Paula Radcliffe joining the debate.

Durden said: “Whilst understanding the intense pressures on local authority and parish councils’ budgets, the decision to charge the parkrun organisers is deeply disappointing and short-sighted.

“At a time when we have an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, parkrun has shown itself to be incredibly successful in engaging millions of people in a healthy physical activity.

“Running not only increases cardio-vascular fitness, it improves mental health and helps people lose weight, all significant benefits, and whilst some runners will be visitors, most participants are locals.

“Most adult runners will also no doubt be contributing to council tax and, through this, the maintenance of parks. The council’s decision creates a principle of pay as you go for use of parks, which flies in the face of why we have parks in the first place.

“As we run up to the Olympic Games, Stoke Gifford Parish Council is hardly building a legacy from the London Olympics.

“Perhaps the key question is why this council has decided it cannot afford to maintain its park without requiring further financial contributions when other councils welcome parkruns?”